Depends - what is the scope you need done? Big difference from just pulling a trigger to doing prep also. The prep is the money and result. Prep is why so many home paint jobs look crap - not just painting skill.

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If you want to keep the car for a very long time, do it right but don't expect to get any change in you pocket from $40-50K. If you are going to use the car and then sell it in a few years then by all means go the cheap route and save money. Don't think using a mig welder on panel steel is a good job (it is like using a flame thrower to light a candle) the only way to go is TIG or gas welding. You will get what you pay for. In the long run quality does not cost - it pays. I spent NZ $40k on my panel and paint 15 yrs ago. I stripped it to a bare shell and then some. I had it soda blasted EVERYWHERE!!, I had panels hand made (repros were crap) I replaced the bottom of the doors and my front 1/4 panels with stainless so they will never rust again. and the list went on. All hammer file and finished I.E no bog/filler, 2 pack Spies and Hecker paint. Real panel beaters are a dying trade these days most of the new guys are panel replacers and glorified plasterers. My 240z looks as good today as it did 15yrs ago when it was finished after 3 years in the panel shop. When you choose the painter have a look at some of his previous work and ask other Zed guys for advice on who to use. If your budget allows, use a classic car restoration shop as they have the expertise, tooling, knowledge and know who are the good painters. Prep is 95% of the work and the gun is 5%. There is no fast, good and cheap option. All the best

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If you want to keep the car for a very long time, do it right but don't expect to get any change in you pocket from $40-50K. If you are going to use the car and then sell it in a few years then by all means go the cheap route and save money. Don't think using a mig welder on panel steel is a good job (it is like using a flame thrower to light a candle) the only way to go is TIG or gas welding. You will get what you pay for. In the long run quality does not cost - it pays. I spent NZ $40k on my panel and paint 15 yrs ago. I stripped it to a bare shell and then some. I had it soda blasted EVERYWHERE!!, I had panels hand made (repros were crap) I replaced the bottom of the doors and my front 1/4 panels with stainless so they will never rust again. and the list went on. All hammer file and finished I.E no bog/filler, 2 pack Spies and Hecker paint. Real panel beaters are a dying trade these days most of the new guys are panel replacers and glorified plasterers. My 240z looks as good today as it did 15yrs ago when it was finished after 3 years in the panel shop. When you choose the painter have a look at some of his previous work and ask other Zed guys for advice on who to use. If your budget allows, use a classic car restoration shop as they have the expertise, tooling, knowledge and know who are the good painters. Prep is 95% of the work and the gun is 5%. There is no fast, good and cheap option. All the best

Rob008, extremely hard to know what it'll cost if you don't know whats lurking beneath, then you have to factor in who you going to use, a high end craftsmen who will likely be well over $100 an hour, or someone on the lower end who might be $40 or $50 an hour.

Rob008, extremely hard to know what it'll cost if you don't know whats lurking beneath, then you have to factor in who you going to use, a high end craftsmen who will likely be well over $100 an hour, or someone on the lower end who might be $40 or $50 an hour.

I used a company called R3 Fabrications They have a Facebook page and have just completed a FJ40 landcruiser and it went to the UK. They have also just finished a $300,000 full resto on a Buick Roadmaster which is a piece of auto porn. The guy that runs the shop did the bulk of work on my car and I would never use any one else. Some muppet crashed into me a few years ago and the insurance company told me to take it to their repairer and that the repair was covered with a life time warranty for workmanship. I politely declined their offer and told them a life time warranty is not worth the paper it is written on in my experience and did not know the standard of their work.

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Depending on what surprises or not there are after blasting it can get very expensive.

My Charger is up over $50k for the body work alone and the base colour coat done. Probably another $5k or so to put the stripes and clear on. I made the mistake of wanting black, and also a sun roof filled in. There was about 40 hours alone in getting the roof right. All the body work on my car is file finished and probably less than 100 grams of bog in the whole car.

And it has less rust traps than a Zed, and was pretty good in the plenums where they do go, so I would say you are looking at $50 to $60k for a checque book job at a minimum to get the body squared away and then the costs of the mechanical resto and then trim.

In the same shop as my charger there is a Zeds that will be there for a looonnnggg time by looking at what repairs are needed after blasting.